Gov’t to spend big on Jamaica’s national security
Vanassa McKenzie / Our Today
Prime Minister Andrew Holness says the Government will continue to make strategic investments in Jamaica’s national security architecture.
Holness, who was speaking during a session with sixth-form students and teachers at Manchester High School in Mandeville on January 12, noted that since 2016, the Government has increased its investment in national security threefold.
He said investments have been made in maritime patrol and border security, improving the security forces’ technological capabilities, and increasing personnel and intelligence, noting that these inputs are yielding notable dividends.
“We have improved, 100 per cent, the communications of the police force. We have invested in several intelligence products and suites to improve our intelligence- gathering capabilities. You hear of the murders that take place every year but what you don’t know are the murders that we… prevent from happening every year. Over 350 murders by virtue of the intelligence work of the police,” he said.
Holness said that 2023 witnessed the lowest number of serious crimes, murders, shootings, rape, robberies and break-ins that have been reported in 22 years.
Data from the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) indicate that in 2023, crime was down by approximately 10 per cent when compared to 2022, with murders down 7.8 per cent. There were also reductions in shootings, rape, robberies, and break-ins.
Against this background, Holness maintained that “the policy of the Government to increase investment in security is working”.
He said the Government remains resolute in addressing the social issues spurring murders and other major crimes as part of efforts to reduce Jamaica’s homicide rate.
“We’re going to continue increasing our expenditure, increasing our strategic and tactical approaches, and we will bring that murder rate down. The target is to have our murder rate down to 16 per 100,000, which is the regional average now.
“To get to that kind of reduction it means… if all of us decided to resolve our disputes without conflict [or] resorting to murders, that goes down. Let us say we are able to treat with murders that happen as a result of gang conflict, murders go down. Let us say we were able to treat with murders that occur as a result of robberies, murders will go down, right?
“So for us, our strategy is to deal with every element of it, and that is why we are treating with this issue of peace. If we can treat with the social factors that are generating murders, then we are well on our way to bringing down that murder rate,” he said.
The prime minister Holness emphasised that proper conflict resolution, as well as the implementation of stiffer penalties as deterrents, are critical measures to tackling crime.
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